Carrier for multiple splice trays

ABSTRACT

A splice site carrier includes an interconnecting member and a plurality of generally planar carrier members that are pivotally interconnected therewith. The carrier members are configured to receive a splice tray mounted on a front side thereof. Each of the carrier members is pivotable about a respective pivot axis between an access position, in which the front side of the carrier member faces in a first direction, such that the splice tray is presented for access to splice sites thereon, and a non-access position that is at least partially inverted from the access position, in which a rear side of the carrier member is presented and the splice tray is not accessible.

CLAIM FOR PRIORITY AND CROSS-REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and is a divisional of parentapplication Ser. No. 10/840,681, filed May 6, 2004, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to the splicing of optical fibers, andmore particularly to the splicing of optical fibers with splicing trays.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Optical fibers and cables have become very common data carriers. Oneissue that can arise with optical fibers is their interconnection withother optical fibers. For example, many industrial, office and apartmentbuildings include data centers, where cables transmitting data fromoutside the building are ultimately interconnected with devices (phones,computers, and the like) inside the building. Commonly, incoming opticalfibers pass to the data center in cable form, where they are splicedtogether with “pigtail” cables. The pigtail cables travel to atermination point, where they are interconnected with a terminationdevice (for example, a termination cartridge or module) that, in turn,interconnects them with “jumper” fibers that exit to other parts of thebuilding for use with various devices.

Splicing of optical fibers is often accomplished via one of threedifferent splicing techniques: mechanical splicing; fusion splicing; ormass fusion splicing. These techniques are well known and need not bedescribed in detail herein. Splices are often stored in splice trays,which are generally planar devices that include multiple splicing sitesdesigned to organize interconnected fibers and splices. Splice trays canassist in keeping a number of spliced fibers in an organized arrangement(typically a tray will have a capacity of 6 to 24 splices). Splice traysare then stored inside shelves on an equipment rack within the datacenter. An exemplary splice tray is the 2524-MF FIBRLOK multi-fibersplice organizer tray, available from 3M, Minneapolis, Minn.

As data centers are required to handle increased amounts of data, theyoften accumulate vast numbers of cables, pigtail fibers and jumperfibers to be spliced and terminated. In an effort to include increasingnumbers of splice trays on a single shelf, in some instances splicetrays have been stacked on top of one another to reduce the amount ofspace that they occupy; in certain of these instances, the splice trayshave been adhered together with “double-stick” tape to attempt tomaintain some degree of organization within an equipment rack shelf.Nevertheless, as the density of cables and fibers grows, it would bedesirable to provide more splicing sites in a limited space, and tomaintain and/or improve the level of organization that that splice trayscan provide.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a multi-tray splice site carrierthat can accommodate and organize multiple splice trays in a relativelysmall space and present them quickly and easily for work thereon. As afirst aspect, a splice site carrier of the present invention includes aninterconnecting member and a plurality of generally planar carriermembers that are pivotally interconnected with the interconnectingmember. The carrier members are configured to receive a splice traymounted on a front side thereof. Each of the carrier members ispivotable about a respective pivot axis between an access position, inwhich the front side of the carrier member faces in a first direction,such that the splice tray is presented for access to splice sitesthereon, and a non-access position that is at least partially invertedfrom the access position, in which a rear side of the carrier member ispresented and the splice tray is not accessible. When all of theplurality of carrier members are in the access position, at least someof the carrier members are in stacked, generally parallel relationship,and when all of the carrier members are in the non-access position, atleast some of the carrier members are in stacked, generally parallelrelationship. The carrier members can be rotated individually from theaccess position to the non-access position to provide access to any ofthe carrier members. In this configuration, a user can quickly accessany of the splice trays in index-card fashion while the splice traysremain in an organized arrangement.

In some embodiments, the interconnecting member is a base, with thecarrier members being pivotally interconnected with the base. In certainof these embodiments, the respective pivot axes of the carrier membersmay be staggered vertically and horizontally relative to one another.The non-access position may cause the front side of the carrier memberto be generally inverted from the access position, or may cause thefront side of the carrier member to face in a direction generally normalto that of the access position.

In other embodiments, the splice site carrier can be formed of anelongate sheet of flexible material that is folded upon itself to form aplurality of leaves that serve as carrier members, with intermediatepanels positioned between pairs of leaves serving as the interconnectingmember. In this embodiment, the carrier members pivot relative to theintermediate panels via living hinges formed in the elongate sheet. Incertain embodiments, when the carrier members are in their accesspositions, they are in stacked, generally parallel relationship witheach other. A cover member that is also formed from the flexible sheetcan be employed to secure the carrier members in their access positions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a splice site carrier according toembodiments of the present invention, wherein the carrier members areshown in their access positions.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the splice site carrier of FIG. 1 with thecarrier members in their access positions

FIG. 2A is a side view of the splice site carrier of FIG. 1 as shown inFIG. 2, with the frontmost carrier member in its non-access position.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a splice site carrier according toother embodiments of the present invention, wherein the carrier membersare shown in their access positions.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the splice site carrier of FIG. 3with one carrier member shown in its non-access position and two carriermembers shown in an intermediate position.

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded top perspective view of the splice sitecarrier of FIG. 3 with three splice trays removed and one splice trayshown in phantom line.

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the splice site carrier of FIG. 3with the carrier members in their access positions.

FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of an alternative embodiment of asplice site carrier like that in FIGS. 3–6 configured for floormounting.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a splice site carrier according toadditional embodiments of the present invention, wherein the carrierpanels are secured in their access positions by the cover member.

FIG. 9 is a side perspective view of the splice site carrier of FIG. 8with the cover member detached and the carrier panels and splice traysmounted thereto in a variety of intermediate positions.

FIG. 10A is a top view of a blank of an elongate flexible sheet used toform the splice site carrier of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10B is a bottom view of a blank of an elongate flexible sheet usedto form the splice site carrier of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a side perspective view of the splice site carrier of FIG. 9with the splice trays removed.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a splice site carrier of FIGS. 9–11 inplace in a data center shelf.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodimentsof the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theillustrated embodiments or other embodiments set forth herein; rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the figures, the dimensions of some componentsmay be exaggerated for clarity.

Turning now to the figures, a splice site carrier of the presentinvention, designated broadly at 20, is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and2A. The carrier 20 includes a base 22 configured to rest on or bemounted upon an underlying surface, such as the upper surface of a shelfwithin a data center equipment rack. The base 22 has a floor 23 andshort side rails 24 on opposite sides of the floor 23. Four slottedapertures 26 with open upper ends are located on each side rail 24. Theapertures 26 are positioned such that each aperture 26 is in substantialalignment with an aperture 26 on the opposite side rail 24, with theresult that each opposing pair of apertures 26 forms a respective pivotaxis A1, A2, A3, A4. In the illustrated embodiment, all of the pivotaxes A1–A4 are positioned at essentially the same distance from thesurface underlying the base 22.

Referring again to FIGS. 1, 2 and 2A, the carrier 20 also includes fourcarrier members 30. Because the carrier members 30 are substantiallyidentical, only one carrier member 30 will be described herein; thoseskilled in this art will appreciate that the discussion is equallyapplicable to the remaining carrier members 30.

Referring still to FIGS. 1 and 2, the carrier member 30 has a generallyplanar main plate 32. At its lower end, the main plate 32 has twolaterally-extending pins 34 that are received in an opposing pair of theapertures 26 of the base 22. The pins 34 are free to rotate within theapertures 26 about a respective pivot axis A1–A4.

Each carrier member 30 supports a splice tray 36. The splice tray 36 canbe any splice tray or other device known to those skilled in this art tobe suitable for providing splice sites for optical fibers. The splicingtechnique supported by the splice tray 36 can be mechanical, fusion,mass fusion, or any other known technique. Exemplary splice traysinclude the 1AF1-16LG Fusion Splice Organizer, the 1AMF1-6LG Mass FusionSplice Organizer, and the 1AM1-12LG Mechanical Splice Organizer, allavailable from SYSTIMAX® Solutions, Inc. (Richardson, Tex.). Otherdevices that supply splice sites include OFSH-T-6-01 BLK andOFSH-T-12-01 BLK, both available from Richco, Morton Grove, Ill. In theillustrated embodiment, the splice tray 36 is mounted to the main plate32 via an adhesive sheet 38 (shown in FIG. 1 in phantom line) withadhesive on both sides (such as “double-stick” tape), although othermounting techniques may also be employed.

Each of the carrier members 30 is free to rotate about its respectivepivot axis A1–A4 between an access position (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2)and a generally inverted non-access position (FIG. 2A). In the accessposition, all but the rearmost carrier member 30 are in stacked,generally parallel relationship, with the front side 32 a of the carriermember 30 facing generally upwardly, such that the splice tray 36mounted on the frontmost carrier member 30 is presented for installationor modification of splices. Any or all of the carrier members 30 can bemoved individually or as a group of any size (much like a typical indexcard file) to the non-access position shown in FIG. 2A, in which rearside 32 b of the carrier member 30 faces generally upwardly, and thesplice tray 36 mounted thereon is not presented for work on its splicesites. In typical operation, at least one carrier member 30 remains inthe access position to that its splice sites are available forinstallation or maintenance work.

In this configuration, any number of splice trays 36 can be stored in asmall space. Also, any of the splice trays 36 can be accessed quicklywithout disturbing the splices in any of the other splice trays 36.

Those skilled in this art will recognize that the base 22 and carriermembers 30 may take other configurations. For example, the base 22 mayinclude pivot pins and the carrier members 30 may include correspondingapertures. As another example, rivets, threaded fasteners, or othercomponents that enable one member to rotate relative to another membermay replace the pins and apertures altogether. More or fewer carriermembers may be employed. Other variations may be apparent to thoseskilled in this art and need not be described in detail herein.

Both the base 22 and the carrier members 30 can be formed of anysuitable material, although polymeric materials are particularlysuitable for their light weight and ease of molding into intricateconfigurations. Exemplary polymeric materials include polycarbonate,ABS, polystyrene, and other thermoplastic materials.

Another multi-tray splice site carrier, designated broadly at 40, isillustrated in FIGS. 3–6. The carrier 40 includes a base 42 and fourcarrier members 50; these components are described in greater detailbelow.

The base 42 has two side walls 43 spanned by a vertical mounting panel46 that includes mounting apertures 47. The side walls 43 have astair-step profile, with multiple horizontal edges 43 b and verticaledges 43 a (see FIG. 5) and are divided into substantially rectangularfrangible sections by grooves 48. Each frangible section includes apivot aperture 44; as with the carrier 20 illustrated in FIGS. 1–2A,pivot apertures 44 on one side wall 43 are substantially aligned withpivot apertures 44 on the opposing side wall 43 to form pivot axes B1,B2, B3, B4. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the pivot apertures 44 on the sameside wall 43 are offset or staggered from one another, both verticallyand horizontally, which in turn causes the pivot axes B1, B2, B3, B4 tobe similarly staggered. Also, portions of the edges of the side walls 43between the horizontal edges 43 b and the vertical edges 43 a includedetents 45 that are positioned forwardly and upwardly from each pivotaperture 44.

Referring again to FIGS. 3–6, the four carrier members 50 aresubstantially identical. As a result, only one carrier member 50 will bedescribed herein; those skilled in this art will appreciate that thediscussion is equally applicable to the remaining carrier members 50.

Each carrier member 50 includes a generally planar main panel 52. Ahandling tab 54 extends upwardly from one end of the main panel 52. Atthe other end of the main panel 52, two pivot pins 58 extend laterallyand are inserted into an aligned pair of pivot apertures 44 for pivotalmovement about a respective pivot axis B1–B4. Also, two retention pins60 extend laterally from the edges of the main panel 52 adjacent thepivot pins 58. The retention pins 60 are sized and positioned to bereceived in the detents 45 in the side walls 43 or to rest against thehorizontal or vertical edges 43 b, 43 a of the side walls 43, dependingon the orientation of the carrier member 50.

A latch 56 rises from the main panel 52 to capture one edge of a splicetray 62. A nub 55 extends slightly from the handling tab 54 toward thelatch 56 to capture the opposite edge of the splice tray 62. As such,the splice tray 62 can be easily snapped into place on the carriermember 50.

In use, the carrier 40 is mounted such that the carrier members 50 (and,in turn, the splice trays 62) are generally horizontally disposed, withthe splice trays 62 facing upwardly. Each carrier member 50 is free tomove between an access position, in which the carrier member 50 isgenerally horizontal (see FIGS. 3 and 6) so that the splice tray 62 isaccessible, and a partially inverted non-access position, in which thecarrier member 50 has rotated about its respective axis of rotationB1–B4 to be generally vertically disposed (see the rearwardmost carriermember 50 in FIG. 4) so that the splice tray 62 is not accessible. Assuch, the carrier members 50 can be manipulated in “index card” fashion.Thus, in many respects the carrier 40 is quite similar to the carrier 20illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, there are some differences thatprovide additional or alternative functionality to the carrier 40; theseare described below.

First, the presence of the frangible sections in the side walls 43provides the carrier 40 with the capability of being modified as desiredby the user for any number of splice trays 62. For example, if the userwishes to use only three splice trays 62, the user can simply break offone frangible section from each side wall 43 (for example, section 43 das designated in FIG. 5), which action would leave three pairs of pivotapertures 44 to receive three carrier members 50 and three splice trays62. Removing frangible sections as described can create additional spacewithin the environment in which the carrier 40 resides or permit thecarrier 40 to be used in a shallower enclosure.

Second, the inclusion of the latch 56 and nub 55 allow the carriermember 50 to capture the splice tray 62 without the use of an adhesiveor other fastener. Because the latch 56 and nub 55 can be formed duringthe manufacture of the carrier member 50 (particularly if it is formedby the injection molding of a thermoplastic material), components formounting the splice tray 62 on the carrier member 50 can be formed veryinexpensively.

Third, the mounting apertures 47 on the mounting panel 46 can be can beutilized to mount the carrier 40, typically via screws, other threadedfasteners, push rivets, or the like, to a vertical surface, as can beseen in FIG. 6. Alternatively, a carrier 40′ may be configured formounting to a horizontal surface (such as a shelf), as shown in FIG. 7,via a mounting panel 46′ with apertures 47′.

Fourth, the stair-step profile of the side walls 43 enables each carriermember 50 to be retained in the access and non-access positions as wellas an intermediate position. The retention pins 60 of each carriermember 50 rest against the vertical edges 43 a of the side walls 43(when the carrier member 50 is disposed as shown in FIG. 6), whichmaintains the carrier members 50 in the access position. A slight forceapplied to the carrier member 50 urges it toward the non-accessposition; this force causes the retention pins 60 to deflectsufficiently to enable them to slide over the end of the horizontal edgeto the detents 45. This places the carrier member 50 in an intermediateposition in which it defines an angle of approximately 45 degrees to themounting panel 46 (see middle two splices trays 62 in FIG. 4). From theintermediate position, resumption of the application of force to thecarrier member 50 releases the retention pins 60 from the detents 45 anddrives the carrier member 50 to the non-access position (see leftmostsplice tray 62 in FIG. 4), where the interaction between the retentionpins 60 and the horizontal edges 43 b of the side walls 43 help tomaintain the carrier member 50 in place.

Fifth, the offset or staggered positioning of the pairs of pivotapertures 44 (and, in turn, the positioning of the pivot axes B1, B2,B3, B4) can enable all of the carrier members 50 to overlie one anotherin stacked, substantially parallel relationship in both the access andnon-access positions. This fully stacked relationship of the carriermembers can be realized whether the base 42 is oriented either for wallmounting (see FIG. 6) or floor mounting (see FIG. 7), with the carriermembers 50 being able to pivot from an access position to a non-accessposition in either orientation. Moreover, in some embodiments it may bepossible for the carrier members 50 to be detached from the base 42,inverted, and re-attached to the base 42 to enable the carrier 40 to beconverted between wall and floor mounting.

The base 42 and carrier members 50 can be formed of the same materialsdiscussed above for the carrier 20. In addition, many of the designvariations discussed above with respect to the carrier 20 may also beemployed in the carrier 40.

Referring now to FIGS. 8–11, another carrier of the present invention,designated broadly at 70, is illustrated therein. The carrier 70 isformed from a flexible sheet (typically a flexible polymeric materialsuch as polypropylene) that is folded back upon itself numerous times toform carrier members.

Referring first to FIGS. 9–11, the carrier 70 includes a plurality ofcarrier members 74 that are interconnected by intermediate panels 76.Each carrier member 74 is formed of two overlying panels 74 a, 74 b of aunitary flexible sheet 72 (see FIG. 11). Each intermediate panel 76 isformed of the material of the flexible sheet 72 that resides betweenadjacent pairs of overlying panels 74 a, 74 b, with adjacentintermediate panels 76 meeting at their edges to form an overallinterconnecting member 79. Thus, a living hinge 90 is formed at the foldlines between adjacent carrier members 74 and intermediate panels 76that defines a pivot axis C for each of the carrier members 74. Thecarrier 70 also includes a cover panel 78 with a flap 80 and a frontpanel 81. A hook-and-loop fastener 82 is attached to the flap 80, and amating hook-and-loop fastener 84 is attached to the bottom panel 81.

The carrier 70 is created by folding the flexible sheet 72 into aplurality of leaves to form the carrier members 74 and intermediatepanels 76. FIGS. 10A and 10B show the configuration of the flexiblesheet 72 (typically formed of polypropylene, although other flexiblematerials may also be employed) prior to folding. Designated fold lines74 c separate the panels 74 a, 74 b of each carrier member 74, anddesignated fold lines 74 d separate the panels 74 a, 74 b from adjacentintermediate panels 76. The cover panel 78 is formed by folding thesheet 72 along fold line 78 a, and the flap 80 is formed by folding thesheet 72 along fold line 80 a. The front panel 81 is formed by foldingthe sheet along fold line 81 a. All of the aforementioned folds may beachieved through techniques known to those skilled in this art. Thepanels 74 a, 74 b are attached to one another via double-sided adhesivesheets 75 (FIG. 10B). Optionally, the carrier members 74 may bereinforced by sealing or otherwise attaching the edges of the panels 74a, 74 b; it may be particularly advantageous to seal the fold lines 74 dof adjacent panels 74 a, 74 b, as doing so may improve the integrity ofthe living hinges 90 formed thereby.

Splice trays 86 are mounted to the panel 74 a of each carrier member 74.In the illustrated embodiment, the splice trays 86 are attached viadouble-sided adhesive sheets 88 (see FIG. 10A), although otherattachment techniques may also be suitable.

When the carrier 70 is closed (FIG. 8), the splice trays 86 and thecarrier members 74 are in stacked, alternating, generally parallelrelationship. The intermediate panels 76 (not shown in FIG. 8) aredisposed normal to the carrier members 74. The cover panel 78 isparallel to the carrier members 74, and the front panel 81 is normal tothe carrier members 74 on the side opposite the intermediate panels 76.The flap 80 overlies a portion of the front panel 81 such that thefastener 82 mates with the fastener 84.

In order to perform work on a splice within the carrier 70, a user wouldsimply detach the flap 80 from the front panel 81 and rotate the coverpanel 78 about its living hinge 90. Doing so would present the uppermostsplice tray 86 to the user. The user would then be free to rifle in“index card” fashion through the splice trays 86, with each splice tray86 moving from an access position to a non-access position via rotationabout the living hinge 90 of its associated carrier member 74, until thesplice tray 86 of interest were reached.

Although the carrier 70 can be mounted in a number of orientations, itmay be preferred to mount the carrier 70 to a horizontal surface, suchas a shelf. If this is the case, one suitable orientation would have thesplice trays 86 and carrier members 74 parallel to the mounting surface,with the cover panel 80 facing upwardly. It may also be advantageous tomount the carrier 70 to a vertical surface. If so, one suitableorientation would have the splice trays 86 and carrier members 74parallel to the mounting surface, with the cover panel 80 facingforwardly and the intermediate panels 76 facing downwardly. In either ofthese orientations, detachment of the flap 80 from the front panel 81can provide simple and convenient access to and manipulation of thesplice trays 86.

Turning now to FIG. 12, the carrier 70 can be included in a shelf 110 onan equipment rack 100. This particular shelf 110, which is described ingreater detail in co-assigned and co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/832,893, filed Apr. 27, 2004 and entitled ARTICULATED HIGHDENSITY FIBER OPTIC SPLICE AND TERMINATION SHELF, includes a splice sitemounting panel 115 that is vertically oriented during normal operationand during maintenance of the carrier 70. Fiber optic cables 120 feedinto the carrier 70, wherein splicing between optical fibers of thefiber optic cables 120 and pigtail fibers 125 is achieved. The pigtailfibers 125 lead to a termination device 130, wherein they are opticallyconnected with jumper fibers (not shown).

Those skilled in this art will recognize that other environments mayalso be suitable for use with the carriers of the present invention. Forexample, other splicing shelves, such as the 600 series family ofshelves offered by SYSTIMAX Solutions, Inc., Richardson, Tex., may beemployed. Alternatively, other structures, such as Interconnection Units(LIU) 100 or 200, also available from SYSTIMAX® Solutions, Inc., mayalso be used.

The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention, and is not to beconstrued as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of thisinvention have been described, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplaryembodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings andadvantages of this invention. As such, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this invention. The scope ofthe invention is to be defined by the following claims.

1. A multi-tray splice site carrier, comprising: an elongate flexiblesheet, the elongate sheet folded back on itself at multiple locations toform a plurality of leaves, the leaves serving as carrier members, thecarrier members being separated from each other by intermediate panels,each of the carrier members being configured to receive a splice traymounted on a front side thereof, each of the carrier members beingpivotable about a respective pivot axis defined by a living hingebetween an access position, in which the front side of the carriermember faces in a first direction, such that the splice tray ispresented for access to splice sites thereon, and a non-access positionthat is at least partially inverted from the access position, in which arear side of the carrier member is presented and the splice site tray isnot accessible; wherein when all of the plurality of carrier members arein the access position, at least some of the carrier members are instacked, generally parallel relationship, and when all of the carriermembers are in the non-access position, at least some of the carriermembers are in stacked, generally parallel relationship, and wherein thecarrier members can be rotated individually from the access position tothe non-access position to provide access to any of the carrier members.2. The splice site carrier defined in claim 1, wherein in the accessposition, all of the carrier members are in stacked, generally parallelrelationship.
 3. The splice site carrier defined in claim 1, wherein theelongate flexible sheet further includes a cover panel at one end thatcovers edges of the carrier members when they are in the access positionand maintains the carrier members in the access position.
 4. The splicesite carrier defined in claim 3, wherein the cover member furtherincludes a flap that fastens to one surface of a front panel that isattached to a carrier member.
 5. The splice site carrier defined inclaim 4, wherein the flap fastens to the front panel via a hook and loopfastener.
 6. The splice site carrier defined in claim 1, wherein eachcarrier member includes an adhesive sheet adapted to mount a splice traythereon.
 7. The splice site carrier defined in claim 1, furthercomprising a splice tray mounted on each carrier member.
 8. A multi-traysplice site carrier, comprising: an elongate flexible sheet, theelongate sheet folded back on itself at multiple locations to form aplurality of leaves, the leaves serving as carrier members, the carriermembers being separated from each other by intermediate panels, each ofthe carrier members being configured to receive a splice tray mounted ona front side thereof, each of the carrier members being pivotable abouta respective pivot axis defined by a living hinge between an accessposition, in which the front side of the carrier member faces in a firstdirection, such that the splice tray is presented for access to splicesites thereon, and a non-access position that is at least partiallyinverted from the access position, in which a rear side of the carriermember is presented and the splice site tray is not accessible; whereinwhen all of the plurality of carrier members are in the access position,at least some of the carrier members are in stacked, generally parallelrelationship, and when all of the carrier members are in the non-accessposition, at least some of the carrier members are in stacked, generallyparallel relationship, and wherein the carrier members can be rotatedindividually from the access position to the non-access position toprovide access to any of the carrier members; and wherein a splice trayis adhesively mounted onto each carrier member.
 9. The splice sitecarrier defined in claim 8, wherein in the access position, all of thecarrier members are in stacked, generally parallel relationship.
 10. Thesplice site carrier defined in claim 8, wherein the elongate flexiblesheet further includes a cover panel at one end that covers edges of thecarrier members when they are in the access position and maintains thecarrier members in the access position.
 11. The splice site carrierdefined in claim 10, wherein the cover member further includes a flapthat fastens to one surface of a front panel that is attached to acarrier member.
 12. The splice site carrier defined in claim 11, whereinthe flap fastens to the front panel via a hook and loop fastener. 13.The splice site carrier defined in claim 8, wherein each carrier memberincludes an adhesive sheet for mounting its splice tray thereon.
 14. Anequipment rack for the splicing of communications cables, the equipmentrack including a shelf, the shelf having mounted thereon a multi-traysplice site carrier, the splice site carrier comprising: an elongateflexible sheet, the elongate sheet folded back on itself at multiplelocations to form a plurality of leaves, the leaves serving as carriermembers, the carrier members being separated from each other byintermediate panels, each of the carrier members being configured toreceive a splice tray mounted on a front side thereof, each of thecarrier members being pivotable about a respective pivot axis defined bya living hinge between an access position, in which the front side ofthe carrier member faces in a first direction, such that the splice trayis presented for access to splice sites thereon, and a non-accessposition that is at least partially inverted from the access position,in which a rear side of the carrier member is presented and the splicesite tray is not accessible; wherein when all of the plurality ofcarrier members are in the access position, at least some of the carriermembers are in stacked, generally parallel relationship, and when all ofthe carrier members are in the non-access position, at least some of thecarrier members are in stacked, generally parallel relationship, andwherein the carrier members can be rotated individually from the accessposition to the non-access position to provide access to any of thecarrier members.